The latest figures from the Land Registry are showing that the credit crunch is starting to have a noticeable impact on property values and volumes. Prices are down but transaction volumes have plummeted by nearly 60%

The web site Primelocation.com released figures last month claiming that sellers had increased the price of properties in the area by over 14% during January. Estate agents are looking to overseas buyers attracted by bargains presented by the weakness of sterling to provide support for the market particularly at the top end. The sale of a property in Hammersmith Terrace for over £2.5 million suggests this may not be totally wishful thinking (see table below).

The Land Registry numbers are for actual transactions rather than prices at which properties are being offered for sale so they may present a more reliable picture of the market.

The average price for a W6 property sold in the fourth quarter of last year was £452,455. This is down by 7.4% less than half the fall seen elsewhere in London and the country.

The most alarming number for estate agents is the volume figures which show that only 60 properties changed hands during the quarter. With 41 agents listed as being based in the area, significant consolidation seems likely.

The Land Registry data for January for the country as a whole shows an annual house price change of -15.1 per cent. This marks the seventeenth month in a row where the annual rate of change has fallen. This contrasts with the 21 months of uninterrupted increases in the annual rate of change between December 2005 and August 2007. Prices in London were down by 14.1% over the year.

The average property in England and Wales is currently worth £156,753 and the rate of monthly price change stands at -0.8 per cent. Sales volumes nationally have continued to decrease, with the number of sales averaging 41,014 per month in the months August to November 2008. In the same period in 2007, the average was £106,495

The numbers are subject to revision as usually some properties are added late to the Land Registry's database